As I'll be leaving Australia for good come March, I have been dabbling in kitchen skincare so I don't have to lug so many cosmetic products back to Malaysia. Run out of hydrating masks? Look in the kitchen. Run out of hair masks? Look in the kitchen. Cue really weird looks from my boyfriend. He has given up on asking and decided to live in ignorant bliss instead.
I ran out of toner a few weeks back and stumbled upon a box of green tea in the kitchen. I looked at it, shrugged and put the kettle on to boil. Then I left the teabag to steep while I hopped off for a shower. Having read quite a bit about green tea toners, I figured that now was a good time to try.
My verdict after a month? Well, the stuff kind of works. My skin seems a little clearer and using this in the morning helps to cut down on oil. In fact, it works so well in the oil control department, my skin turned dry and flaky. I only use this at night and once every two or three days in the morning.
Used as a mask (I soaked a facial sheet in the cup), green tea works pretty great in soothing angry red pimples.
I guess that there is something in green tea after all.
Go ahead and give this a shot the next time you run out of toner or have a large box of green tea waiting to be used. It doesn't have to be expensive Japanese green tea -- I originally started out with some really cheap arse brand from India and am now using Vietnamese lotus tea -- just as long as it is freshly brewed and steeped for about 5 - 10 minutes, longer than normal drinking tea.
Just a tidbit: I personally avoid drinking green tea unless it has been brewed with a slice of ginger (Vietnamese style). It isn't because of the taste (I love the taste of green tea) but because it tends to give the women in my family tummy aches and leave us feeling bloated. My sister has cut it out completely because it triggers her gastritis and after talking to a cousin, we realised that green tea might be the culprit for her frequent stomach aches and water retention.
Unless I have ginger, I stick to drinking fully fermented tea.
11 comments:
I love green tea, I am not into ginger :( sorry :) hehehe
So how DO you use it as a toner?
i love green tea too! I drink it almost everyday.
AND, i tried using it as a facial mist for a while, then i got too lazy to remake the mist everyday =/
Hello Eli
I do agree with you on drinking green tea + ginger to zap the gas.
Green tea does trigger abdominal bloating and gas for some ppl (like me, boo) and I used to have really bad gastric and difficulty in breathing.
So most of the green tea now goes as toner (i add apple cider vinegar) :)
So how do you actually use it? Can you keep it for long? Or you have to brew a cup everyday?
Looks like I'll have to edit this post. =P
I usually brew a fresh cup before I shower at night. After washing my face, I either wet a cotton pad in the tea to swipe over my face or splash the green tea on my face directly depending on lazy I feel that night. Then I let the green tea dry on my face. Just like a normal toner.
Make sure that the green tea is cool enough for your face though.
You can make this in the morning and keep it in the fridge til night but I like mine fresh. =)
Foxy Frangipani: Cider vinegar? Ooh, I have to try that.
that's some intriguingly amazing stuff. and i must agree, why else should you feed your face something if you can't eat yourself. =)
i never knew that green tea causes wind.
i used to think it got rid of wind
haha. silly me!
i have an entire packet free from sakae sushi cause i worked there last year
maybe i should try this out ;)
Classically Cool: Lots of people argue that we should just stick to kitchen stuff because it's fresh and better. Others say that bottled products are better because of XYZ technology. I kinda sit on the fence though and go for what works for me .
Lynn: Try it out and post it on your blog. ;)
You are genius, Eli! Will have to give it a go too.
I never would've thought of using tea for that. Nice tip!
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